Charles Sumner: “Lowndes died before my memory of political events, but he is still endeared by the self-abnegation of a single…”

“Lowndes died before my memory of political events, but he is still endeared by the self-abnegation of a single utterance,--that the Presidency is an office not to be sought or declined,--a sentiment which by its beauty, in one part at least, shames the vileness of aspiration in our day.”